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SR-11-F e ..;Jd.1ll..d. lV~VlU""'d., ......"'-LLl.U.l.IH<1., .JUL)l LG, J.71 f . ry:.~J~ ~ ~- TO: 1:1ayor and CIty Council 'JUt 2 6 1977 FROM: City Staff SUBJECT: HelIcopter Operatlons at Santa lv-fonica Airport Introduction This report reviews hehcopter flIght training operations and current helicopter arrival/departure procedures at Santa Monica Airport. It recommends that all helicopter trai.ning be eliminated at the airport and that the pattern altitude for all helicopte-rs be incre~sed from 500 feet to 700 feet. '- c:: .- r-- r--' :'l ~I ..~ -..., ~-( -1>- ;> -~ ~ -?-t ..., :..- 0 Pursuant to the Joint meetill~~ "\'nth the AIrport Cornmission in DeceIinbc~;JJ ~ ~z ~ "r'l 1976, and as a result of the numerous complaints by airport reside1jj )>-< --..J Background regardIng the noise generated by hell copter training operations, the City Council requested staff to con"lplete an analysis of hehcopter operations; specifIcally, alternath'es concerning restriction of helicopter flight training at Santa Monica Anport. Further, in respons e to complaints concerning noise from transient helIcopters, thIs report also revie"l.vs current helicopter arrival/departure procedures and provides recommendations to reduce noise levels emanahng from &uch flight operations. II F !!nr .... - .-- TO: Mayor and _ Cou.ncil . July 22, 1977 -2- -- Hehcoptcr Operations at Santa Monica Airport There are currently two fIxed ba&e operators at Santa 1\Ionica AIrport that utilIze hcl1copters in their daily busIness activities, Briles 1Ving and Helicopter, Inc., and Krueger AviatIon, Inc. It &hould be noted that upon receipt of request by staff for certain information germaine to this report, both Briles Hehcopter and Krueger AVIation refused to provjde that information on ad>;.'"ice of legal counsel. Briles \'lIng and Helicopter is primarily an air transport company and dep'_oys its helicopters in various 'lair-lift't operatIons throughout the world. Aside from maintenance and repair operations performed on the ground and ,Vlthin the confines of their hangar facility, additional helicopter activIty by Briles, Inc., involves arrival and departure flight operations. With the exception of an occasional equipment repair test, Briles Helicopters do not use the airport helicopter pattern. Krueger Aviation, Inc. is a multi-purpose fn.:ed base operator that is involved in several c..ommercial aVIatIon actiVItIes includIng airplane sales, rental, and flight trainIng. In addition, Krueger A viahon oper2.tes the only helIcopter flIght traimng school at Santa Monica. and as such IS the primary user of the Santa Momca helicopter training pattern. ~~. ~U-J -- ----- ---J - - ---~--- -- ...........J --, .....".... . . -3- Helicopter FlIght Tra~ning - Santa J\'!~nica !u rport The Krueger Aviation FlIght School operates hvo helicopter!>. a 1959 Bell 47G2 and a 1969 Bell J ctRanger 206B. The J etRanger 206B is a turbine helicopter which is uc;ed primarily for charter rental and some lessons. The Bell 47G is a piston engine helicopter, whi.ch is used almost exclusively for instructional purposes. The flight school adn1.inisters lessons at Santa Mon1.ca Auport and uses the helicopt~r training pattern v./hieh is situi'!.ted on the north side of the airfield, south of Ocean Park Boulevard. west of Bundy Drive and ea5t of 25t11 Street. Flight instruction is availabJ e seven days per \.vE'ek bchveen the hours of 9:00 a. m. and 7:00 p.ln. Each lesson costs approximately $90.00 per_l hour session. It is eshmated th2.t Krue ger Aviation averages bctw'een 4 and 5 lessons pel clay during the week, and 2 to 3 lessons per day on Saturdays. It should be noted that a restricted pattern confining all hehcopter lessons to a narrow 2, 500 foot strip north of the run,vay between Bundy Avenue and 25th Stred is imposed on all \.veekend lessons. Based on these estimates, and a 2570 downtime factor due to inclement \.\feather and nlaintenance and repair s, staff projects that Krueger Aviation gro&ses between $77,220 'and $98,280 per year on the helicopter flight traimng operation. 'Yithout d ctailed input from Krueger A v~ation. it is impossible to project overhead costs a:ld net profit. (' TO: Mayor and c. Council . July 22, 1977 -4- The CIty currently receives $4, 143. 16 per year 1Il rental payment s from Krueger Aviation, Inc. Helicopte~ Noise - MeE!.SUrcnlent In PNdbs (PerceivecJNoise Levels in Dec~bds) The reason helIcopters g.enerate more complaints than many louder, fixed wing aircraft, is a result of individual noise perception. People react differently to various sound s much as they react differently to other sensor}~ stimuli~ There are several factors that '\'/ill influence haw one perceives a nOIse; such as duration, variabilIty, unfamiliarity, as well 2.5 amplitude (louclness)~ One method used to accurately measure human reactions to helicopters IS the perceived l101S e level scale expres5 ed in decIbels (PNdb scale). The PNdb scale considers the dIstribution of frequencies that make up a sound and thus correlates well 'i.vith subjectIve judgments of the noisiness or annoyance levels of varIOUS types of sound s, such as helicopters. Sound of the Helicopter - Blade Slap The unique sound of a hehcopter is readIly IdentifIable even \cvhen Its perceived level falls below that of more common noise sources such as trucks and buses. This is due to the modulation produced by the relatIvely slow turning main rotor. The modulation, referred to as "blade slappingll, draws an observer I 5 attention to the sound, and WIll (e . ..... -- ~ - - , ..." t r -- -5- influence the reaction to the SOUl1(l. As a helicoFter perf 01 ms the many flIght operation.s It is capable of (1. e. hover, taLe-off, level flIght, descent) it5 sound varies, often qUItE' rapidly. The variabIlIty characteristic further causes the ~ound of the helicopter to be disruptive. In adchhon to the factors of modulation and variability, is the component of extended duration ,"VhlCh results from the comparatively slow flight speed of a helIcopter. To further clarify the PNcJh effect of hehcopter operatIons, Table 1 indicates that a an altItude of 500 feet, a Bell 47G would reach approxi- mately 95 PNdb or 10 db over thE:' bac1';.ground of a downto'-.vn COlYlluercial area wIth heavy traffic. By cOlnpanson, as a result of nlUffler adjust- ments to Krueger r s Bell 4 7G?, the noise tests conducted at Santa lvfonica Airport in January 1975, In{hcated that this hehcioptcr would reach the 85 PNdb level. WhIle this "rGuld not be perceptible in a downtm,vn comnlCrcial area. the neighborhood currently affected by the pattern flying generates substantially less tackground nOIse. Consequently, it is staffl s belief that because of the residenhal natur e of the affected neighborhood. and the erratic and extended noise helicopters produce, the current policy of allowing 4 to 5 hours of helicopter trdining adjacent to this noi5c sensitive reSIdential area will continue to generate TO; Mayor and c:, Council e July 22. 1977 -6- the consistent flow of nOIse complaInts that has persisted over the last several years. .Helicopter Flight Tr.aining - Procedures Used at Other Auports Staff contacted several aIrports and helicopter flight training schools l.n the Los Angeles County area to determIne haw helIcopter noise has been controlled. ,van Nuys Airport - Helicopter flight training was ehminatcd at Van Kuys Airport in 1972. The helIcopter flight traimng school in operation at Van Nuys is Bud .Walen Aviation, Incorpol ated. For the past 5 years 'Valen Aviation has been using Santa Susana Airport, a privately owned airport in Ventura County. and a model aircraft field in the Ne"\T:hall- Valencia area. Both these locations are approxlmatdy 10 miles from Bud Yi'alen Avi.ation base of operations. In discussions with staff, \\'alen Aviahon indicated that upon prohibition of helIcopter operatIons at Van Nuys, they Vfere able to transitIon their operations to Santa SU.=.ana and Ne\vhall ..vithout increasing the costs of their lessons. In additlon, they stated that no reduction in helicopter training lessons demand "vas experienced. Vlalcl1 A viation currently pays Santa Susanna $30 per month to operate at the a1rpart. The charge for lessons is $100 per hour and the helicopter TO: Mayor and Ci(tt:ouncil - July 22, 1977 , -- -7- u sed is a Bell 47G2. It should be noted that the termInatIon of hehcopter fhght traIning at Van Nuys Au-port was pursuant to noise complaints from the nOlse sensitive residential areas in the vicinIty of Van Nuys Airport. Hollywood-Burbank Airport - Holly...vood-Burbank Airport eliminated all helicopter flight training in the airport vicinity In 1971. The airport is currently owned by Lockheed An Terminal, Incorporated. The only helIcopter flight training ochool ba~ed at Holl)'"\vood-Burbank AIrport is Hehcopters International, Incorporated. This ope1ahon U\vns four helicopters, two of which are Bell 47G21s and one Bcll JelR.angcr 20bB. The cost for lessons ranges between $86 and $110 for the '17Glls. Since t1ie prohibItion of helicopter flight trainIng at Burbank Airport, Helicopters International has been using both Yfhitcman Aupo1"t, a Los Angeles County operated airport located in P2.coima, and thE' Inodcl airplane park in the Valencia-Newhall area. \Vhitcman Airpol t 1S in c:.:ccss of fIve miles from the Helicopters International operating base in Eu rbank, while the Valencia-Newhall area is appro::nmately 18-20 nules away (30 mInute round trip). Helicopters International states that the move to off-base flight training locations did not effect business adversely. In additIon, prices "\vere not increased ~----J-- ~-~ - - - - ; ( e . - --~ --, ....F... -8- ,""hen they '\,;'ere forced to leave Hollyv'ood-Burbank AIrport. In general, despite the added distance, Helicopters International maint::l.ins that business has increased during the last hvo years. Torrance Airport - Purbuant to the receipt of numerous complaints from nOIse sensihve areas adjacent to Torrance Airport, several new restrictions concerning helicopter flight tra1.ning have. been implemented wi th1.u the last year. The sole company operating as a flight traimng school at Tor ranee Airport is peni.nsula AVIation, Incorporated. Their operations have been restricted from conducting lessons on the pexiphery of the airport, to pattern flying on the airport runway itself. Torrance is c!lfferent in configuration than Santa MonIca Airport In that It has two separate runways, thus accommodating tlns type of arrangement. Penmsula Aviation indIcated that no loss of business has been experienced as a result oE these further restrictions. Ehmination of Helicopter Flight Traimng at Santa MOnlca Anport Since Krueger Aviation is the only helicopter operation at Santa Monica Airport utihzing the flight training pattern, the prohibitIon of any helicopter flight training in the current pattern \vould eliminate the noise level problem whIch cUI-rently exists. It is staff's opinion that most persons living in the vicimty of the current flight pattern would be TO: MaYOl a:lcl C. Council . July 22, 1977 -~ -9- dishnbed by the continuous c.xposu re to helicopter pattern flymg. Staff discussions with comp:uable helicopter training operatIons support the conclu!>lOn that alternate helicopter training sites may be available. Further, w'hilc negotIations for the use of alternative pattern sites are solely the rCbponsibihty of Krueger Aviation, preliminary staff research Indicated that. Hughes Airport in Culver City and certain sechons of the Santa Ivfonica lvfountain area might prove to be acceptable locations. Both facilities are wHhln 10 nlHes of the Santa Monica Airport. ~~hcopt.er Opcrahon~ for Arrivctl~ and Departures The current procedures for arrival and departure of helicopters at Santa l-:'i:onica Airport shpul?_te that all helIcopters shall approach or depart Santa 1\1onica _hrport at 900 angle to the c:'.irflcld froIn both the north and the south at an altitude of 500 feet abO\Te the ground to be maintau"led unhl cros'5ing the anport boundary. Santa 1vIonica Airport experIences an a verage of six to ten helicopter arrival and departure operatIons per day. Most of these consist of helicopters o"\vned by Briles Helicopter and the various law enforcen1.ent TO: ivlayor and. Council . July 221 1977 -10- agencies in Los Angeleb County 1ncludlng Los Angeles Pohee Department helicopter s. Los Angeles County Sheriffl s Department helicopters. and California Highway Patrol helicopters. The various patrol helicopten. use Santa 1\1onle<:l AIrport as a fuehng station. Combined fuel sales average approximately $500.00 per month. 'Within the last year, staff has received 'numerous complaints concerning the noise levels of transient hehcopters appro2.ching and departing Santa 1vIomca Airport from both the north and south sIdes of the airfield. Staff beheves that the reason for these complaint5 are twofold: 1) those residences on the north side of the airport do not have the benefit of the buffer provided by the old M cDoll..l'lell-Douglas structures; and 2) the homes situated in the helicopter approach pattern from the south are located on a hill that elevates therrl to approxlnl.ately 150 to 200 feet, which reduces the distance between the homes and the approaching and departing helIcopters from 500 feet to approximately 300 to 350 feet. In discussing this problem with the FAA control to"\ver personnel. staff suggested that the pattern altitude be increased from 500 feet to 700 feet above ground level. It was the cO:::ltrol tower personnel's opinion that 700 feet represented the Inaximum acceptable pattern altitude for 1 0; }..~ayor cmd City Council e e July 22, 1977 -11- helicopter arrival and departure operatIons, and that any lugher altihlde could result in an unsafe situation bchvecn fixed "",ing aircraft and helIcopt.ers. Staff discussed the 200 foot p<lttern altitude increase "vith Bolt, Beranek and Ne,'i.rman, noise consult2DtS. to determine tlle actual perceptible noise level ",[fed th~s nlight have for airpm,:t resident s. It is Bolt. Beranek and NeWlnan's opInion that such adJustment Ul flight pattel n altltuc'le would re~ult in a 2db to 3 db decrease in noise levels, or a maximum of 20% perceptible noise difference for those residents dnecUy under the appl'oach pattern. Alternatives 1. I-~elicoptcy FlIght Traimng Operah~ 1. ElImination of all ?ehcopt~r flIght tra5ning operations at Sant~ ~onica Airport - ThIs alternative would cffecti vely eli1ninaie all noise complaints generated from the current U5e of the helicopter flIght training pattern by Krueger Aviation Aircraft for helicopter instructIon. ThIs altern::tti ve ,"vould require that Klueger Aviahon fIud an off-base locati('\n for their fi1ght training operations. TO: Mayor and Ce Council e July 22, 1977 -12- 2. !{cstnct pattern flpng for hehco?ters to one or t.,vo lessons per d?y. ThIS alternative would not resolve the overridIng problem of noise generated by any helIcopter activity resultmg from lessons in the flight training pattern. 3. ,Impos e no further restrictions on h~l,lcopter flight, training at Santa J.1onica lurport. This alternative would result in no' change in noise levels generated from helIcopter activity at the airport. II. Adjustment of Helicopter Operations Pertaimng to Arrival and Departure::; 1. Increase the current helIcopter pattern altItude arrival and departure pattern from 500 feet 10 700 feet -- this alternative would not pose a safety problem in terms of f1.xed "\71n& aircraft operations at Santa Monica Airport. It would reduce the perceptIble noise levels for airport residents located directly under the helIcoptcr approach patterns by as much as 20%. 2. Maintain current fhght pattern altitude at 500 feet. This alternative would of course, result in no perceptible noise level change for airport residcnts under the helicopter flight arrival and departure patterns. -- - ... - - ~- J - - - -~ ~ ~ - ~ J - - - .....-...J --, ...."".. . e -13- RCCOlnmcndation 1. Staff recommends that Co~nCll approve Alter:1ative {;1 (1) ,"VhlCh would prohibIt all helicopter pattern flight traInIng at Santa Momc.a Airport, and would authorize the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for fIr st rcadlng. II. Staff reconlmends that Council approve AlternatIve NII (I) increasing helicopter arrival and departure pattern altitude from 500 feet to 700 feet. This alternative ,"vauld allow staff to offIcially request that the FAA im.pose thu, new pattcr:l altitude, and conscclucntly ,"vould not become operational untIl FAA approval is receIved. Pr eparcd by: LARRY J. KOS1\10NT AdminIstrabve Assistant LJK: d vI Attachment (I) .0 -0 Z (L 100 ...J t!J > uJ -J W U') o z o t:.l > Ul V c:::: \.w c.... W (.) < e::: \..:.j ;>- < . - TABLE 1 CO:V1PARISO;-'J Of A V~R;\GE PERCEIVED NOi3c.: LEVE LS FOi\ CO).j.,viERCIAL H~Ll(:'JPT~RS WITH TYPJCf\L DAC~G3ROiJND j'.jOJSE LEVELS 120 ~.. 110 I i - ----i-- I I I t +- ! I I \ I I I . I I I I, i f 80 &1_ ./j;>(~ i <; !-r;/lj;/)~/!/f!Ill:-t(li,' r, 'f~ DO'NNl o~"'n COW,.IEPClt.L (Ji-;v~-j IIIII??!I!] Jljl~(0!j//ll~'l.'I"''':''''''/} 0' AREAS ~,! iH HEAVY TRAFFIC{j.f/r, {II/Ill (frjtll'.! i/lt,.J 1/; I/"':~'!/,/ '_l.L1 LI. J L urLLLt...qi-l..-I-o-~_.<.:t-""'-" -.....:....-:-{~r.~_L~,~.. : I I j" t '; ~:. t ; r .' ~~,~J ',t "- ;HEAVY INDUS) RIAL;AR~AS r~i,~i l .~ ~l' --- , I ---L-r---""x~ -"-'-~'-.,-- ~~~L~~n'~ 1 '\""'L\\"n\'\\\\\'''i.-\.~\ " ~\' \ ~ \\\\\\\\\\\,\,\ ~....,-\~ ~ ~~ I COI.t"~ERCl!,L AREAS\:.\\\ ~~~\\\~ :\\!~\~~,*~~'" '. ~.~ \\,\i , (L1G!-~T ~~r;.~~~l ~~~~\\~~\~~~%~~~~,~~\\\~ ~~'.P(~~h\,0\~~~,.. ~('.- .. '$:',\'(\ '7,\>:~\~(:\~\'~~ t, ~,-:\ ~~.:r-l>.:':\\...e~,'v>:'(<\;p.1;' ,::...\$. r\;.r.:\\\-.g~:,wS"",, ~. ~- ,\~:'<.(\ ..Y.:....;:r.~1.~\)(,'\4'\.,.....;"(t~~\..~~'" ~.....~*~~j l~\~,--..''.\'1"(-''''''~\...~\W~~w.:'''M\...:\",\ I, c,:~-";,,,~'~"1 f\~~~~~~~~ UR5AN RESIDEMTl.AL AO EA (DAYTIME} /v::1 ~~/~))\f5)f~)l' l}}'~'lf ')J ! i ~ II { ~ ~ < { { < : < { < .; \ 1 '\h I) ) I \ \ ) \ \~}J ~ ) . '} QutET SUBURBhN AREA {NIGHTI') 1) , ~n) 1 (~~ {< ~ {nn< ~ ~ {[~ ~ {B q H~) ~ ~ ~ ~ 90 BELL 205..\ 70 60 50 100 200 400 4000 700 2000 woo DI5T ANCE TO H~ UCOPTER. FEET " 10 CA 77-105 I~K:SiIlJak Counc~l Mtg: 8-~77 e OHDHMNCr: }JO. (Clty Councll Serles) AN OrtDIl:JX.JCE OF 'THE CITY COUl:-JCII. OF 'i'Hr..; CITY OF ShNTA liOXICA ADDI1\"G SECTION lOl05A2 TO THE SANTA MONICA NUUICIPAL CODE, PROHIBI7ING HELICOPTER FLIGHT TRAINING OPEPATIO~S AT THE SI'>.NTA HONICA nUN ICIPAL AI RPORT THE CI'l'Y COUNCIL OF THE CITY or SAt\l'1'A HONICA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Sectlon 10105A2 is hereby added to the Santa HanIca t1unicl..pa 1 Code and shall read as follows: SectloD JOIOSA2. HELTCOPTER FLIGHT TRAINlclG PROHIBITED. It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct or part~c~pate In, or ald or assist any other person in, hellcopter pattern flight trainlng operations of any klnd or nature at the Santa I~nIca Munlclpal Airport at any time. Hellcopter pattern flIght tralnlng shall be and 15 strlctly prohlblted at all ti~es at the Santa aOD1Ca Buniclpal Airport. SECTIOl.J 2. Any provlslons of the Santa Ibnica lltilllClpal Code, or appendIces thereto inconsistent herewith, to the extent of such lnconSlstencies and no further, are hereby repealed or modifled to that extent necessary to effect -1- CA 77-105 e - 6 the provIslons of thIS ordlnance. SECTION 3. If any sectlon, subsectlonr sentence, clause or phrase of thls ordlnance 1S for any reason h2ld to be 1nval1G or unconstitutlonal by a deCIsion of any court of competent Jurisd1ction, such deC1Slon shall not affect the val1dlty of the remainlng portlons of the ordlnance. The Clty Counell hereby declares that it would have passed this ordlnance and each and every sectlon, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional w1thout regard to whether any portion of the ordInance would be subsequently declared invalld or unconstitutional. SECTION 4. The l1ayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of thlS ordInance. The Clty Clerk shall cause the sa~e to be publ1shed once in the offiCIal newspaper withIn fIfteen (IS) days after lts adoption. The ordlnance shall become effective after thirty (30) days from lts adoption. ADOPTED and APPROVED thlS day of 1977. r"1AYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK -2- ,--i-I. I '-.J.U-:J . . .~ STATr:: OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF LOS A~GLLES cr.ry OF SAL~TA rlONICA ) ) S5. ) I do hereby certlfy that the foregoing ord~nance was duly and regularly lntroduced at a MeetIng of the City CounCll on the day of , 1977; that thereafter ~he said ordlnance was duly adopted at a meetIng of the Clty Council on the day of I 1977, by the followlng vote of the Caunell: AYES: COU~JCILHEI1BER: Noes: COUNC IU1EHBER: ABSENT: COUl'iICILHE1-1BER: CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORn: -3-